NASA Shares DART Mission Results; How Successful is It? Here's What Bill Nelson, Other Officials Say

Experts say there's a drawback.

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NASA finally gave the updates for its recent DART mission. On Tuesday, Oct. 11, the international space union had a conference where officials shared the results of the space activity.

NASA Shares DART Mission Results; How Successful is It? Here's What Bill Nelson, Other Officials Say
A television at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, captures the final images from the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) as it approaches asteroid Dimorphos (R), past asteroid Didymos (L), on September 26, 2022. - NASA's DART spaceship on September 26 struck the moonlet asteroid Dimorphos. Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images

The press conference started at 2:00 p.m. EDT. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Italian Space Agency President Giorgio Saccoccia both hosted the event.

On the other hand, the panel consisted of the following experts and officials, as reported by Spectrum News 13:

  • Tom Scatler (NASA Headquarters DART program scientist)
  • Nancy Chalbot (DART coordination lead)
  • Lori Glaze (NASA Planetary Division director)

NASA Shares DART Mission Results

According to PBS News Hour's latest report, the NASA DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) mission was just a rehearsal for the day a potentially destructive asteroid nears Earth.

NASA Shares DART Mission Results; How Successful is It? Here's What Bill Nelson, Other Officials Say
A placard hangs on the wall during the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) Technology Media Workshop Telecon Briefing and tour at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, on September 12, 2022, ahead of the September 26th project test mission. - The goal of the DART mission, which launched in November 2021, is to hit an asteroid with a spacecraft to slightly alter its trajectory. Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images

Thanks to the efforts of NASA, the DART mission was successful.

"NASA is trying to be ready for whatever the universe throws at us. We showed the world that NASA is serious as a defender of this planet," said Bill Nelson during the conference.

He added that the mission was a watershed moment for planetary defense. Nelson also shared that the DART mission is a historical change for humanity.The NASA chief further stated that the DART mission was the first space activity to alter a heavenly body's motion.

If you want to know more about the updates provided by Bill Nelson and other space experts who attended the press conference, you can watch the YouTube video below.

DART Mission's Drawback

National Geographic explained that the DART mission has a drawback.

Since the DART spacecraft crashed into the Dimorphos asteroid, its dust is now swaddling across the asteroid system.

Because of this, experts believe that the particles could affect other rockets visiting Dimorphos' location.

Aside from this, they added that if more than one impact is needed to alter the motion of an asteroid, problems could also occur.

Previously, we reported that the NASA Jupiter moon image revealed that Europa could be habitable.

Meanwhile, the NASA nuclear-powered Dragonfly helicopter would soon explore Titan, Saturn's largest moon.

For more news updates about the DART mission and other activities of NASA, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

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Written by Griffin Davis

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Tags:NASANASA DART MissionBill Nelson
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